Drill jigs are well-known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,782,373 to Smythe discloses a drill jig for a femoral prosthesis. The jig includes a plurality of drill guide bores formed therein which coincide or match with a plurality of bores in the prosthesis. The jig is then used to drill bores in the bone to the existing holes in the prosthesis.
It is also known in the prior art to use drill jigs for total hip prosthesis. U.S. Pat. No. 3,814,089 to Deyerle relates to a U-shaped drill jig having a long leg with drill holes. These holes can be aligned with the holes in the prosthesis shank to permit screws to be placed in the prosthesis holes. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,137 to Azer et al. teaches the use of an intramedullary rod system to align a drill with holes in a bone implant or insert for the fixation of long, hollow bones, such as a femur.
It is further known in the art to use tubular sleeves for bone grafting in animals. The sleeves include holes or perforations to allow bone grafts to move outward and fuse the joint. However, restorative surgeries of this nature have typically required immobilizing the animal in a cast for up to six weeks. Consequently, prior art techniques of fusing the coffin bone joint in a horse or other similarly hoofed animal have proved insufficient since immobilizing the animal for relatively long periods of time is impractical and inconvenient.
Another disadvantage associated with the prior art has been the inability or lack of precision in locating the position of holes to be drilled through a bone such that the holes would thereafter be accurately aligned with preformed holes or openings in a prosthesis. This is in part due to the lack of a releasably assembled drill jig suitable for placing an implant into the coffin bone joint of a horse or other similarly hoofed animal which overcomes the problems associated with the prior art. It would therefore be desirable to provide a drill jig which is suitable for use with horses and other such animals that is capable of being releasably attached to a prosthesis during insertion such that fusion could be achieved with a minimum loss of mobility to the animal.